One round down, three more to go to crown the 2017 NASCAR Cup champion.
The first round of eliminations took place Sunday at Dover International Speedway. Daytona 500 winner Kurt Busch, Richard Childress Racing teammates Ryan Newman and Coca-Cola 600 winner Austin Dillon, and Brickyard 400 winner Kasey Kahne were eliminated.
That leaves 12 drivers who advance to the second round of the playoffs, which begin with Sunday’s Bank of America 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
The second round consists of Charlotte, Talladega Superspeedway (Oct. 15) and Kansas (Oct. 22). The playoff field will be cut to eight drivers after Kansas.
Martin Truex Jr. enters the Round of 12 still atop the Cup standings.
Here’s the updated playoff grid and the Cup standings leaderboard: